The RIAA has sued another P2P software company and is asking $150,000 per illegally downloaded song discovered

The RIAA has filed yet another lawsuit in its crusade
against peer-to-peer file sharing networks, this time targeting the popular
LimeWire network.

In the complaint the RIAA alleges that Lime Group LLC and
its associates "actively
facilitating, encouraging and enticing'' its users to steal music and that the
company is doing nothing to block access to copyrighted works. The RIAA further
alleges that Lime Group LLC has built a business model that allows them to
directly profit from piracy.

LimeWire began operating in 2000 and has since become the
program of choice among P2P users as other P2P companies have shut down or
changed their business models to allow legal file trading. Last year the US
Supreme Court ruled that P2P companies could be sued for copyright infringement
if they were found to encourage piracy when the court ruled in the Gorkster
case. The RIAA is seeking damages including at least $150,000 for each
illegally downloaded song.

The suit comes only
days after the RIAA settled a lawsuit with Sharman Networks, the company that
distributes Kazaa. Record labels Sony
BMG Music Entertainment, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and EMI Group are
behind this latest file sharing related lawsuit. As part of "going legit," the P2P network Kazaa recently agreed to pay record labels $100M USD in a bulk settlement.

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Why doesnt the RIAA, after their current business model has dried up (inevitably), become a law firm? They are damn good at it and it seems they spend an awful lot of time for a RECORD company suing people left and right. Shouldnt they be busy promoting music and searching for fresh new talent? Does their business model have ANYTHING to do with music anymore?

They aren't a record company. The RIAA is a front for the record companies that deals with lobbying and lawsuits (to preserve the "good names" of the existing major labels). Therefore, the RIAA has nothing to do with the promotion of music and searching for fresh talent (which the labels behind the RIAA can't seem to do either).

I didnt say they are a record company. I am quite clear about what and how they function, but it seems like over the years and especialy lately they have drifted away from their core business values which should be about using music to help the record companies turn a profit and ofcoarse the general respect for music of anykind. The RIAA's values certainly have sway over the larger record companies, and seeing as to what they have come to, I dont think it is benefiting ANYONE in the music industry.